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Lakers pressured to add Leonard before LeBron decision

Posted on Monday, July 02, 2018 by Jody Gill

GETTYKawhi Leonard apparently prefers a move to the Los Angeles Lakers though for 2019

A contract for Kawhi would almost guarantee an obligation from LeBron to sign with the Lakers as the the team intend on re-building a new powerhouse team with the two as well as the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Paul George.

Houston could acquire James in a sign-and-trade deal, but it would require a third team to complete the transaction.

The most the Lakers or any other team could offer James is four seasons and $152.3 million.

As for Embiid and Simmons, it's obvious why they would be excluded from any trade.

George will be an unrestricted free agent in July and while he admitted playing in his native state would be "attractive", he has also hinted he would like to re-sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder, claiming the team "checked all the boxes".

Leonard, who wants the Spurs to trade him, reportedly would prefer to head to the Lakers.

Time is not on the side of Los Angeles, and this is a smart tactic from the San Antonio front office. But 2019-20 could turn out to be a real problem with Leonard and Irving having the option next summer to skip the a year ago of their deals and enter the market.

In March, a frustrated Parker told the media that his injury was "a hundred times worse" than Leonard's. Having history to preclude trade discussions could force things to stall or have the Spurs send Kawhi Leonard to another team.